BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in McCandless

My husband and I have eaten at this location two other times. On all occasions the hosts have been less than welcoming. It’s like you get the sense you are not welcome. This last visit truly broke my heart. We decided to stop at BJs after my husband and my dental visit next door. As always the host seemed unwelcoming however we were quickly seated which is always a plus. Our waitresses name was Vanessa. Upon greeting us, Vanessa asked for our drink order. Before I could inquire about a drink I had enjoyed the past two visits Vanessa decided she did not want to wait but would give us “time” to decide.

When Vanessa returned I attempted to describe the drink I was interested in ordering but was cut off multiple times. Vanessa’s words felt sharp towards me and I didn’t understand why. The drink I was looking for was included in the margarita flights sampler but Vanessa argued that the flights were no longer available. I was not interested in the sampler but in one particular drink I had sampled. She seems irritated with me as if I had slighted her, this made me confused and uncomfortable. I do not want someone with that sort of energy towards me around my food. I calmly stated to my husband that I felt it was best for us to go somewhere else. While leaving I asked the host if I could speak with the manager who I could see speaking with Vanessa on the side of the bar. As Vanessa is speaking with the manager, whose name was never given, she was flailing her arms about, obviously speaking about our interaction. Once she was through she walked to the front of the bar turn and said loudly “Her right there”, pointing then threw her arms about and stormed off. I was embarrassed and taken off guard. Surely she felt some sort of disdain towards me and I had no clue why. To go from 0 to 10 like that and in front of the entire restaurant was so embarrassing. The manager came to speak with my husband and I. He seemed to have a smirk about the entire situation. I spoke with him about my experience. He acknowledged Vanessa’s irate behavior vs my calm demeanor and stated that he would address it. He offered us a different waitress but after that I couldn’t possibly trust my food coming from such a place. The restaurant rarely has people of color when we go but that isn’t to say brown people do not eat there. All I can say is you can definitely feel it when you enter the building. Almost like you don’t belong there. Our last two waitresses were kind women, one was Kim. We tip well both for excellent service and to prove a point. I hate that this happened. I really really like the food at BJ’s but even my husband felt uncomfortable each time we have dined at this location. I’m not sure if this company prefers not to serve people of my ethnic background or not. I encourage more people share their experience at this location. I’m really interested in knowing if they have had...

First things first. The cooler at the "To-Go" section has a little secret to it! In the bottom right hand corner you are able to purchase those beers as "Singles". This is pretty awesome if you don't want to commit to just one of the amazing beers they sell here. Now on to the service and food!

With restrictions lifting quite quickly with COVID19 I am a little surprised that the bar has yet to be opened. Seems like a missed opportunity at the moment as mostly every other restaurant has their bars open again. Certain seated sections are still not being utilized due to the "Social Distancing" and that unfortunately leads to longer than usual wait times. Although their text alert system works well it was odd having to wait an hour to be seated at such an early time.

Now the service. We were happily greeted and told there was again to be an hour wait. Although not the best news to convey they did at least try their best to make it seem it was going to be worth it. Our server Jaimie was simply AWESOME. Polite and extremely friendly while providing excellent tentative service. It's servers like Jaimie that can make or break restaurants. If management is reading this please be aware you have a really good one here.

Finally the food. I will say the idea of small plated appetizers are a fantastic idea. The Turmeric Cauliflower was really tasty and an exciting alternative to the typical pre-dinner salad. Definitely would like to come back to try their Honey Sriracha Brussel Sprouts on this "Mini" App menu as well as their Root Beer Glazed Ribs.

As far the the main courses go we went with a Great White Small Pizza Pie and Classic Prime Rib Dip Sandwich. It's not that these menu items weren't tasty but they just weren't very "Wow". Only reason I deducted the 1 star. I'm sure another visit here could redeem this as looking at the menu online surely shows me PLENTY of worthy entrees. Another reason why we all can't wait for the COVID19 restrictions to be lifted as having a handheld menu with pictures is just really nice. The online alternative being offered at the moment just doesn't give the same restaurant vibe. Paper menus are available upon request but offer no pictures at all.

All around BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse offers a really enjoyable experience offering fantastic beers selections and eclectic menu options. I really look forward to visiting here again once all the restrictions have...

I used to visit BJ's Brewhouse in the Bay area often after bike rides with my cycling club, and always enjoyed the atmosphere and the beer but never tried the food. so I can't really compare except to say this one had a similar atmosphere.

However, I personally was not at all impressed with the food. most everything on the menu I could not eat because I have to avoid fried foods, onions and garlic, so my viewpoint may be of limited use. I was very happy that the waitress took her time to go back and forth to the kitchen to see what items for which the onions could be removed. it ended up that there aren't many, because most of the items come as mixes or kits. that right there is a negative for me, even though it is quite common with a lot of chain restaurants.

in the end, after all the work she did for me in finding out what I could actually eat, she forgot to order half of what we decided on, and forgot to bring my beer. I believe this was in part due to all the attention she paid to me, so she had to give extra attention to the other customers and ignore me for a little while. that's fair, so I don't fault her for having gotten confused or needing to attend other customers.

the bottom line is if you are like me and have to limit your fried food, onions or garlic, you definitely want to avoid this place, and all BJ's Brewhouses is for that matter.

I have to mention also that what I did end up ordering was the poke appetizer and the oriental chicken salad. both of which were very very substandard to every single pokéball and oriental chicken salad I have ever had.

so, BJ's brewhouse is a good place to have a beer and watch a game, but not a good place to eat, even if you don't have allergies or special considerations, and especially if you're looking for something that tastes authentic.

for these reasons I struggle between two and three stars, but I landed onto because my experience made me feel like I wasted my time...